So What if I Transmigrated into a Honkai Beast? Chapter 100 - 99 - Pierce!

To decide not only victory and defeat, but also life and death.

The next blow would determine who would continue to live.

"Tshh."

Fine sand, weathered by the winds of the Australian continent for untold years, trickled slowly from the gaps in Radiant Star.

Lu Xing raised the Knight Lance in his hand.

The silver radiance flowing upon its edge gradually transford into leaping embers, which then, in a jubilant dance, erupted into soaring flas.

[Radiant Fla]

Radiant Star's innate skill.

It amplified the damage of [Thrust] by 20% and, while the skill was active, reduced damage taken by 30%.

Lu Xing adopted the most standard [Thrust] opening stance.

This skill wasn't his strongest, but the reason it ford the foundation of all Knight-class maneuvers was precisely due to its nurous variations.

Facing Hiko's wide, sweeping offensive—

Boom!!

"She's coming!"

Flas exploded beneath Hiko's feet!

Aided by the explosive impact, Hiko's [Crimson Lotus Flash] displayed a speed far exceeding its previous manifestations!

The trade-off was the direct damage her body took from the explosion due to the absence of her [Flowing Fla Armor]—to injure the enemy, one must first injure oneself; Hiko's tactics were just that unrestrained.

This ti, Hiko did not raise her greatsword high. Instead, she adopted a low stance strikingly similar to Lu Xing's earlier "Rising Dragon Slash"!

Lu Xing knew why.

Though he hadn't witnessed them, the last two skills in Hiko's list, [Blazing Blade Draw] and [Heaven-Burning Calamity Fla], had yet to be revealed.

Lu Xing did not shy away from predicting the most difficult scenario:

Hiko would combine these two techniques, unleashing her long-accumulated flas in a single burst using an "Iaijutsu" style, delivering a slash with the indeterminate form of [Heaven-Burning Calamity Fla].

Ti and circumstance left Lu Xing no room for guesswork.

He could only be certain of this—

The mont Hiko struck would be the mont life and death were decided!

Boom!!

Lu Xing likewise stomped heavily on the ground.

The reverse acceleration from [Strike], combined with the agility granted by [Dash], propelled Lu Xing's body to its utmost speed in an instant!

Two teors.

They hurtled directly towards each other on the horizon—

Crack!

Now!

Everything around him was ignored!

All of Lu Xing's attention was focused entirely on Hiko's right hand!

In the instant her thumb, its bloody hue slightly faded, pressed its soft pad against the sword hilt—

Zzzt!!!

"Blazing Blade Draw!!"

"[Space-Ti Rend]!!"

————

Boom—

Thud!

A dust cloud spanning over ten ters rolled across the ground.

Hiko, having crossed paths with Lu Xing, nearly pitched forward the mont her feet landed—the drastic consumption of energy, coupled with the severe wound to her abdon, left her unprecedentedly weak:

She had never felt standing to be such a difficult task.

But...

"I've won."

Hiko dared to assert this.

Her family's hereditary "Iaijutsu," combined with her non-human physique, allowed her to execute a [Three-Stage Thrust] that far surpassed conventional understanding... Even wielding a greatsword, it didn't hinder her drawing speed in the slightest.

This strike—

Clack.

Fragnts of dark cyan shell fell from his body, kicking up sprays of flowery snow and sand on the ground—thin snowflakes were swept up by the airflow, like delicate, tiny faeries, dancing beside Lu Xing's body as he struggled to stand.

"So fast."

Lu Xing had misjudged the speed of Hiko's attack.

To slay him... in Hiko's view, perhaps it didn't require an all-out ultimate move. An Iaijutsu strike delivered at divine speed towards the opponent's vital points, coupled with the searing heat of her flas, was sufficient to take Lu Xing's life.

That motion, which seed like drawing a blade, was actually the end of the slash...

Sheathing the sword.

However!

Lu Xing was not the only one who had misjudged the situation.

The secret technique, which should have delivered three consecutive slashes, had, in reality, only seen its first strike take effect.

Compared to perfectly overlapping three slashes into a single instant... perhaps because in battles against Honkai Beasts, the application of power was far more effective than technique, Hiko, who had originally mastered the essence of this move... had beco sowhat rusty.

Apart from the very first slash, the remaining two attacks were all successfully dodged by Lu Xing using [Space-Ti Rend].

And this imperceptible first slash...

Killing an ordinary or even a Variant Honkai Beast wouldn't be a problem, but for Lu Xing, whose constitution was far stronger than a Chariot-class of the sa level, it was just a tiny bit short:

From his shoulder to his lower abdon, Lu Xing's frontal armor was sliced clean open.

The high temperature lted everything the blade touched, and the surface of Lu Xing's body was carbonized into a humanoid charcoal briquette.

Only...

Only his Honkai Crystal was undamaged!

Hiko's blade had actually touched Lu Xing's core.

But this Honkai Crystal within him, which had appeared unique thus far, displayed a defensive power far beyond the ordinary:

The greatsword left a scratch five centiters deep on the crystal's surface, yet it stubbornly failed to shatter it completely!

Lu Xing's Honkai Crystal was only two-thirds complete.

If Hiko's sword had struck the unprotected, concave part, perhaps the outco would have been entirely rewritten.

Unfortunately, reality had no "ifs."

Both combatants had reached the end of their ropes. Whether greatsword or lance, neither could even rely on gravity to lean their weapons beside them.

Instead of healing her injuries, Hiko had chosen to stake everything on that last attack—this decision had placed an unimaginable burden on her body. After the attack concluded, she still hadn't managed to break free from the intense discomfort.

If she had slain Lu Xing, she would naturally have had ti to recover.

But...

Although Lu Xing was in an equally terrible state—the energy consud by [Space-Ti Rend], plus Hiko's slash that had nearly dismbered him, had brought Lu Xing's condition to its lowest ebb...

He could at least still move.

He glanced around.

The legion had devolved into mindless beasts, while humans trailed behind this horde. The target of both... was the already burning Sydney.

More than half of the points of light in his mind had vanished. Not a single familiar one remained—apart from Ange, whose whereabouts were unknown—Lu Xing couldn't even find soone to help deliver a finishing blow.

Zing!

"I'll have to rely on you again."

A clear, beautiful sword hum rang out.

Lu Xing drew [Frost's Lant], the Knight Captain's blade, which had been thrust into the ground—right beside it was the box containing Cheche's core, which Lu Xing had knocked away earlier. Because of his previous action, Hiko hadn't let Hua retreat with the box. At this mont...

Lu Xing did not open the box.

Absorbing the core would indeed allow him to recover significantly, but against an opponent who found even standing difficult, Lu Xing felt it was an unnecessary extra step.

Most importantly, if he had the Honkai Core, perhaps Cheche still had a chance of revival... probably.

Before his opponent could regain her strength—

His right arm swung back, positioned by his ear.

His left palm rose to support the blade's body.

This was the opening stance of a sword technique Hiko had used previously: the Fanged Thrust.

"Farewell..."

The sky was twisting, the earth was trembling, the city was burning.

Lu Xing paid no heed to the cataclysmic changes around him. He focused all his spirit, essence, and energy into the edge of his blade—

"...Hiko."

Shoo!

Thwack!!